Top Russian Military Official Shot In Moscow Shortly After Trilateral Peace Talks Conclude

A gunman shot and seriously wounded a senior Russian intelligence official in his Moscow apartment building on Friday in yet another assassination attempt that the Kremlin is blaming on Ukraine.

Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, a deputy head of Russia’s military intelligence arm, was taken to the hospital after the shooting and remains in critical condition, Reuters reported, citing Russian investigators. The gunman fled the scene and has not been identified as of Friday morning.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the shooting a “terrorist attack” and claimed that Ukraine was attempting to derail talks between Moscow and the United States, NBC News reported. The shooting took place just one day after U.S., Russian, and Ukrainian officials concluded another round of peace talks in the United Arab Emirates. Ukraine and Russia agreed to another prisoner swap during the negotiations, but no breakthroughs on a potential peace deal or ceasefire were announced.

Alekseyev, 64, is a highly respected military official in Russia and was honored by Russian President Vladimir Putin with the “Hero of Russia” award, which recognizes exceptional service for the country. The United States has sanctioned the Russian general for his role in Russian cyberattacks. Alekseyev was also sanctioned by the European Union after Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned in England in 2018.

In 2023, Putin sent Alekseyev to negotiate with Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin after Prigozhin started a mutiny and attempted to overthrow the Russian dictator. The coup attempt ultimately failed, and Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash that U.S. officials believe was caused by a bomb on board “or some other form of sabotage.”

Russian news media cited law enforcement sources who said the gunman was waiting for Alexeyev outside of his apartment and opened fire when the military official left to go to work. Alekseyev reportedly sustained gunshot wounds to the chest, along with one of his arms and a leg. Following the assassination attempt, some Russian journalists questioned why top military leaders are not better protected, Reuters reported.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to some of those criticisms, saying, “It is clear that military commanders and high-level specialists are at risk during wartime. But it is not the Kremlin that should be deciding how to ensure their safety. This is a matter for the special services.”

Ukraine has not taken responsibility for the assassination attempt, which comes just two months after another Russian general was killed in a car bombing in Moscow. In December, Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, who was head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, was killed along with his assistant in a blast that Russian authorities blamed on Ukraine’s intelligence agency.

Sarvarov was the third high-ranking Russian military leader to be assassinated since late 2024. Ukraine has claimed responsibility for the assassinations of multiple Russian generals since the beginning of the war.

During the trilateral talks in the United Arab Emirates this week, the White House agreed to resume high-level military dialogue with Russia, something that has not happened since before Moscow invaded Ukraine. The agreement comes as the nuclear arms control treaty between the United States and Russia expired on Thursday.